cs08

Well I am job shadowing this week at one of their skilled nursing facilities so I will have an idea of what kind of work I will be doing and if I find out that I absolutely hate it, then I will not take the scholarship. If I find that the work is something I think I could do for a year and if I find that I like what I will be doing, I will gladly accept the scholarship. Like I said, I know I am cut out to do almost any type of nursing specialty but there are some that I think I might like better than others. I can't say that I think I will absolutely hate doing LTC though, because I don't mind working with the elderly and I went into nursing to help people in general. I mostly thought that the large amount of patients and the possible stereotype of working in the field would be the only drawback.

Wow that is great to hear :) It definitely gives me hope! Thank-you! I think I will take the scholarship and who knows, maybe I will like working at a skilled nursing facility, or maybe I will go on to ICU but it is good to know that I will still have options!

Thank-you for replying it really helps to hear that. You know I would like to try MedSurg or ER nursing but I know that I will will be able to work in any specialty. Truthfully geriatricts would not be my first choice but I am not oppossed to working in that field and I think it could be a valuable experience for me. Part of the reason I started going to nursing school was because of how my grandparents were treated in their nursing home. It made me want to be a good nurse. It is good to hear though that I would still have the option of going into acute care after I work there if I so desire. I just did not want to be somehow limiting myself in what areas I could pursue. I think LTC is a admirable nursing career and I do not agree with the idea that it isn't. The scholarship does gurantee me a job in LTC through a certain company and I can even choose a skilled nursing facility in the area where I am at now. I am needing financial aid, especially for the summer nursing classes that I am about to take and the company does want me to jobshadow next week to make sure that I would like to work with them. The pay is average starting wage at $23 or 24 and The benefits package seemed pretty well worth it as well and like ashepard said, it would be a job right away and they would pay for my NCLEX test. I know several new grads that are taking jobs they do not prefer anyway because the market in Portland, OR is a little sporifice right now. It is good to hear that acute care places would still consider me a valuable asset to their units and might hire me if I have a background in LTC.

I have applied to a scholarship that would require me to work in long term care for at least a year. I have been offered the scholarship but I recently have been told by several people that working as a nurse in a nursing home is the death of your career? It is not what I want to do for my whole life and I would really like to work in an area such as Med Surg or the Emergency room eventually but will it end up being impossible to get hired with long term care on my resume? The scholarship is for 2000. I really need some more help making a decision because this is a very big career decision I would potentially be making. Thank-you